Petr Shares Plans For Agency, County

The incoming president of the Central Florida Development Council says he is eager to start work on improving the public-private agency.

By KYLE KENNEDYTHE LEDGER

LAKELAND | The incoming president of the Central Florida Development Council says he is eager to start work on improving the public-private agency.David Petr says he wants to use his marketing background to help promote Polk County as a business destination and to be more competitive in attracting new growth. He also envisions a more open and cooperative CFDC working with Polk's smaller economic development groups."My vision is to set a new culture for the organization ... to create something of real impact here in the county," Petr told The Ledger.The CFDC is the main economic development agency in Polk, focusing on new business growth, retaining existing companies and supporting small business development.Petr, 41, officially joins the CFDC as president July 8. He served as director of the Winter Haven Economic Development Council since March 2012, and before that, was marketing director for the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance in Texas. Petr will earn an annual salary of $140,000, paid from the group's private budget. He also will be eligible for an annual bonus of $5,000 or more if he meets the CFDC's fundraising targets.For comparison among similar sized counties, the economic development chief in Lee County earns about $125,000 annually, while Brevard's economic development director is paid about $159,000.Petr is the CFDC's first permanent chief since Tom Patton resigned in March 2011. Patton's annual salary when he left after eight years was $123,406.There is much to do at the CFDC and "the first step is building a really strong team," Petr said. Specifically, the organization needs to fill at least two open project manager positions after a string of departures in recent months.The CFDC is still finding its footing after a major reorganization.Last year, the group revamped itself with the aim of increasing financial contributions and leadership from the private sector, and reducing its dependency on public funding. The CFDC's budget is largely comprosed of $1.2 million in public dollars derived from a local business tax. The organization now requires members to pay an annual fee, and has raised approximately $200,000 from members this fiscal year. Annual "investments" for voting board members can range from $2,000 to $25,000.Petr has an extra incentive to keep the private dollars rolling in. For each year of his employment, he can receive a $5,000 bonus for raising at least $300,000. He gets an additional 5 percent of each dollar raised over the $300,000 mark.CFDC Vice Chairman Greg Ruthven said the organization needs to do more than work toward financial independence. One important goal is to be more transparent and collaborative in its operations, Ruthven said.In the past, the CFDC's decision-making process was often driven by a small group of executive committee members, Ruthven said. He also indicated the CFDC had tenuous relationships with other economic development councils (EDCs) in Polk, such as those in Lakeland, Haines City and Winter Haven."I think before, the CFDC was a little bit more private and held things closer to the vest," Ruthven said. "I don't think you can operate that way. I think we're going to have to be more open with our partners and forget about who gets the credit" for new business projects.Petr says he agrees with that approach to working with individual city EDCs."You need to have someone at the ground level who knows a community intimately that the CFDC can support with staff and data and resources," he said.One idea discussed by Petr is an online system that would disseminate and track new business leads across the county, allowing local leaders to openly monitor and participate in the recruitment process.Ruthven said the CFDC wants to avoid an atmosphere of mistrust and resentment among individual cities as they vie for new businesses. He and Petr both say the objective is to be more effective in drawing new growth regardless of where it happens in Polk."At the end of the day, if it lands anywhere in Polk County, it's a win for everyone," Petr said.

[ Kyle Kennedy can be reached at kyle.kennedy@theledger.com or 863-802-7584. ]